Stalling seniors’ social security while their insurance rates and pharmaceutical costs will likely increase, and giving military personnel a half a percent increase is reeaaaallly bad form. Already seniors are stressed out, already ill seniors are stretched to the max, and ALREADY politicians and politicos have wandered around scaring the bejeezus out of them for no reason other than to advance their own agenda.

YES, those who serve in our military should get an increase … ABSOLUTELY. However, to increase their salary, and more than even expected, while freezing seniors out is ridiculous! Granted the President says he intends to dole out a $250 check to seniors to make up for it – and that is admirable and fair if it is in fact done – but, for those senior citizens who were expecting to get $100 more than that to help pay their bills … it’s just wrong.

Instead, perhaps that military personnel pay increase with the additional 1/2 of 1% could be used to take care of seniors who already are struggling. Please Mr. President, when that request hits your desk … would you not mind passing a portion of the above expected military increase on to seniors?

UPDATE: I informed my own mother, who is both on social security and medicare, of my intentions after writing this post. She is the one who heard the gossip in the doctor’s office about the stall of COLA. She asked me about when and whether it happened, and I said surely something would be done to make up for it … and as of now there sort of is. However, I was still quite upset after seeing the increase in the military personnel’s salary, and it inclined me to write this post. Needless to say, my mother, being an ex military wife, and myself being a military daughter, she hesitantly begged to differ. Hesitantly. She, basically says she would agree with the United States Government on this one, and as she would from experience, believes that there should be an increase for “hazard pay.” Of course, mother is right. And, it’s not where I disagreed with her, or anyone else.

What I disagree with is that my mother continues to go to the food bank, she continues to collect her much deserved social security disability, and medicare … and that recent cut, to me, didn’t cut it. Yet, my mother, knowing what it’s like to be a military wife, after hearing me tell her of the one half of one percent increase on top of a 3% expected increase in pay for military personnel said something to the effect of: They deserve it. I understand. They put themselves in harm’s way. For that, I am thankful she raised me so. But on behalf of all military personnel that can’t help their parents through old age, and those whose parents have divorced but still are military creatures, I’m doing my best to speak on behalf of ex military wives/husbands and children of divorce – they could use a little help as they age, too … they may not have the VA, but they may be as war-wounded as the veterans who served so well.